Former San Mateo college IT director sentenced to three years in prison for stealing

By Bonnie Eslinger

Daily News Staff Writer

Posted:
04/30/2013 06:49:08 AM PDT

Updated:
04/30/2013 06:49:14 AM PDT

The former director of tech support services for the San Mateo County Community College District was sentenced Friday to three years in state prison for stealing more than $150,000 worth of computer equipment, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

Bradley John Witham, 43, pleaded no contest Feb. 27 to four felony charges, including forgery and embezzlement.

From June 2006 to June 2012, he used the district's credit card to make online purchases of computers, software, hard drives, memory sticks and other items which he then resold for profit, according to the prosecutors' office. The San Mateo resident also submitted forged receipts for two iPhones and a bunk bed set.

Witham's attorney, Stuart Hanlon, said he had hoped his client would have received probation only instead of prison time, particularly since he'd already paid $100,000 in restitution. Witham is an Australian native who married an American citizen, but the couple is now getting a divorce and he'll be deported when released from jail, Hanlon said.

"He's losing everything, his job, everything he owns and his marriage," Hanlon said. "Good people make mistakes and he paid a huge price for it."

According to the district attorney's office, a psychiatrist brought in by the defense testified before San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Jonathan Karesh that Witham said he was molested by his father as a child and the abuse resulted in his own impulsive behavior and depression and contributed to his criminal actions.

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Another college district employee, Mark Anthony Bustos, 42, of San Mateo, acted as an accomplice in the crimes, according to the district attorney's office. Bustos learned of the investigation after hacking into the vice chancellor's email and tipped off Witham, who fled to Australia. Witham returned to the United States following negotiations between the district attorney's office and his lawyer.

On Friday, Bustos pleaded no contest to one felony count of identity theft and was immediately sentenced to 90 days in jail.